Crysis is the long-awaited and highly anticipated 2007 first-person shooter developed by Crytek and published by EA. It runs on CryEngine 2, an upgraded version of the CryEngine which was used for Far Cry and it's expansion packs/spin-offs for the Xbox 360.
I've been looking forward to playing this game after watching gameplay of it, reading IGN articles and seeing the screenshots of how stunning and truly next level this game looks and it did not disappoint. Graphics truly were stunning, gameplay was really fun and the story line kept me engaged throughout the whole time and it gives you that Far Cry sandbox freedom of completing objectives the way you want to, do it through stealth using your cloak ability or go guns blazing. Every chapter of the game plays different, some missions are more encouraging of the use of stealth, sneaking around North Korean outposts clearing them out to gather more intel as secondary objectives, other parts of the game you'll be side-by-side with your fellow soldiers fighting the North Koreans and aliens together with a modest arsenal to choose from, Assault Rifles such as the SCAR or the FY-71 (which you'll be using a good amount of times), SMG's, Shotguns and futuristic weapons like the Gauss Rifle.
Crysis isn't your typical first-person shooter like Call of Duty may be where you're just meant to go from A to B in a linear style of gameplay. Crysis lets you truly explore each map level, sure you're pinpointed to go from A to B to C, sometimes getting thrown on a diversion to complete a secondary objective but the way you approach each objective is entirely up to you and I like that. Giving the player creative freedom on how to play the game allows you to keep the campaign experience fresh making each time you play through this game feel different in some aspects. You have to think about strategy, knowing when to use each ability of yours appropriately which makes gunfights and overall combat interesting. Of course you have your odd vehicle section such as tank battles, VTOL battles but apart from the VTOL missions, you're not forced to sit in a tank 24/7 and just complete the mission, you can choose to hop in and out of the tank when necessary or in some regular missions, you can hop in a jeep, pick-up truck and drive to your next destination.
The graphics and setting really create a cool atmosphere and the AI animals such as tortoises, frogs and chickens add onto that. The destructibility of certain buildings and other objects makes the game even more bad-ass. Seeing gas stations blow up accompanied with bass-inducing explosion sounds puts a smile on your face. I guess EA liked it so much as they teased the destructibility model in their upcoming Battlefield: Bad Company game coming out next year. The game was tough, combat is not like your typical style of combat. Gunfights felt tough and not just ones where you stand in the open and go gung-ho, you really have to nail your shot, take cover and be smart about how you approach them cause you take damage easily and before you know it, you're on 10hp dying for cover and that was on normal, can't think how it is on higher difficulty.
Of course, the game isn't perfect though. The graphics were amazing but sometimes were quite glitchy and the physics model was the same at times. Guns would get stuck in walls and give you an absolute ear-ache with the constant banging, at one point I came across a horrific sight of T-Posing enemies, frogs in the middle of some alien base hopping around in the air? Sometimes you could even glitch out and die out of nowhere but it was a rare occurrence. CryEngine 2 is a revolutionary engine don't get me wrong but it could use a bit of work to iron out the physics in the game really.
Overall, Crysis is a spectacular game and held up to its highly anticipated expectations. For a game like that coming out in 2007 to look and play that great, truly is something. Definitely a must-play or at least worth playing.
Positive points:
- Beautiful graphics
- Fun sandbox and combat mechanics
- Great Destructibility model
Negative points:
- Slightly buggy physics engine
- Minor graphical bugs (maybe due to 32-bit issues?)